What We Learned in MLL in 2014

It was a memorable Major League Lacrosse season: superstars new and old shined, a new playoff format

There was an emergence of young stars…

If you look at the players that finished in the top 25 in scoring this year, 15 of those players have logged three years or less in the league. Yes, 60% of the leading scorers in the league could have made cameos in Emilio Estevez's most celebrated and valiant piece of performance art. Players like Eric Law, Marcus Holman and Will Manny made monumental leaps in their sophomore campaigns. Those three players amassed 154 points combined — 105 of which were goals — more than half of what the league's leading offense Ohio Machine franchise scored ALL SEASON. Is it a concentrated youth movement that will fade with time? Or are offensive players coming into the league more game ready to contribute at the highest level than ever? There is no one right answer; it's a combination of all of those things. Players coming into the league now are given a chance to contribute regardless of where they went to school (St. John’s product Kieran McArdle, won rookie of the year) what position they were drafted (see also: Mark Cockerton and his 24 goals) or even WHEN they were drafted (Peter Baum put up 50 points in what was his rookie season after being drafted first overall in 2013). One by one veteran torches are being snuffed out around the league. MLL is now a young man's game on the offensive end; it's only a matter of time before the other positions catch up.